Disrupt HR

A fast-paced night of networking, new ideas, and fun! Read more to learn how Disrupt HR is changing the world of recruiting events.

In 2015, Cincinnati-based Chris Ostoich founded Disrupt HR to offer a unique and different way to share what is new and happening in the HR recruiting world. The company exists to energize, inform, and empower businesses by putting on speaking events across the world.

CEO Jennifer McClure has been an HR practitioner, leader, and executive for almost 20 years. As a full-time speaker, she noticed that conferences and events were producing the same type of HR content. She and Ostoich put their heads together to create something unique and fresh. The result? Disrupt HR.

Chris Ostoich

A typical Disrupt HR event takes place at a bar or a brewery and provides a night to meet new people, exchange ideas, and have a good time. “The goal is that people come and learn something,” says McClure.

Each event follows the same basic format. Multiple speakers are given five minutes to talk, and 20 slides that automatically advance every five seconds. McClure is a full-time speaker and coach, yet she laughs as she explains the difficulty even she can sometimes have keeping up with the Disrupt speaking format. “The format tends to create some comedy as speakers try to keep up with the advancing slides,” says McClure, “However, it puts all speakers on the same playing field and allows people that wouldn’t want to give an hour-long talk to share their ideas.”

McClure goes on to explain that many of the speakers at Disrupt events are rookies. She says, “We provide an opportunity for people to speak who never get invited to speak on main conference stages. We encourage event organizers to involve people from the broader business community to gain lots of perspectives on the world of work that you don’t necessarily hear at normal recruiting events.”

In order to host a Disrupt HR event, the organizer must go through the headquarters in Cincinnati. If approved, the organizer will obtain a license for his or her city and pay a $500 annual licensing fee. Currently, there is a total of 103 licensed cities in 24 countries.